SDSU helping Boise State find league solution

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San Diego State is helping Boise State find a stable conference home for its non-football sports, possibly in the Big West for 2013 and beyond.

But if that move fails and the Broncos can’t find a suitable league for those sports, SDSU might have to reevaluate its move to the Big East Conference in football next year.

“It’s a fluid time,” SDSU Athletic Director Jim Sterk said. “Boise is a great partner and we’re working to help find a solution for them.”

Asked what would happen if Boise State could not find a suitable league to place its non-football sports, Sterk said, “It’s just speculation at this point.”

If Boise State decided to stay in the Mountain West, both SDSU and the Big East would have a decision to make. Would the Big East still want SDSU without Boise State? If so, would SDSU still want to make the move without its western partner?

Both Boise State and San Diego State last year decided to leave the Mountain West to join the Big East in football effective July 1, 2013. They are the league’s only future members located west of the Rocky Mountains.

SDSU’s contract with the Big East states that if Boise State does not join the Big East as planned, the league will “discuss in good faith” SDSU’s admission into the league as a football-only member.

“For clarity, neither party shall be obligated hereunder in the event that the conference does not have as a member on (July 1, 2013) at least one football-playing institution that is located west of the Rocky Mountains,” the contract states.

In other words, the deal will be reconsidered if Boise State is not part of it – and SDSU could walk away from it without penalty.

The deal was for football-only. To make it work, both schools needed to find new conference homes for their other sports because the Mountain West prohibits having non-football members.

SDSU landed its other sports in the Big West, and Boise State was to land its other teams in the Western Athletic Conference. But now the WAC looks shaky after San Jose State and Utah State recently decided to leave that league for the Mountain West. Only Idaho and New Mexico State are committed to play football in the WAC in 2013.

So where can Boise State turn?

It’s possible the WAC could be reinvented as a non-football conference. Another possibility is the Big West, though there is likely to be resistance to it among current members, all of which are in California. To them, adding Boise would add travel costs without significantly increasing the value of the league.

And that’s where SDSU comes in. The Aztecs want Boise State to find a stable home for its non-football sports. Otherwise pressure will grow on Boise to stay in the Mountain West for all sports – a move that would force SDSU to decide whether it wants to be the only Big East team west of the Rockies.

SDSU can apply pressure in the Big West to open the door to Boise. With the best men’s basketball team in the league, the Aztecs have some leverage. But if that isn’t enough, other creative solutions may be required, such as subsidizing travel to Boise for Big West opponents or developing some sort of western Big East league to house the other sports.

The Idaho Statesman reported last week Boise State has asked the Big East for help in finding a place for its non-football sports.

The Big East previously said it had planned to add another western football member at some point, possibly Air Force or Brigham Young, both of which turned the league down last year.